ENTER THE JAREDITES (circa A.D. 401 to 420)
“Mormon Bids Farewell to a Once Great Nation” by Arnold Friberg
Chapter 9 of The Book of Mormon
30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words.
Editor's note: I thought this would be a great place to start, with Moroni, son of Mormon talking directly to you, the reader.
31 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been.
32 And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.
33 And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record.
34 But the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also that none other people knoweth our language; and because that none other people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof [by use of the Urim and Thummim].
35 And these things are written that we may rid our garments of the blood of our brethren, who have dwindled in unbelief.
36 And behold, these things which we have desired concerning our brethren, yea, even their restoration to the knowledge of Christ, are according to the prayers of all the saints who have dwelt in the land.
37 And may the Lord Jesus Christ grant that their prayers may be answered according to their faith; and may God the Father remember the covenant which he hath made with the house of Israel; and may he bless them forever, through faith on the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Book of Ether
Editor's note: The first part of the twenty-four plates of Ether start at the creation of the world and the days of Adam up to when the Tower of Babel was being built. For this “full account” of Ether, I recommend reading the Book Of Moses chapters 1-8 from The Pearl of Great Price next, then Genesis 6:13-11:1-9 of the Holy Bible.
Once you're finished, return here to continue for the rest of the Jaredite story as recorded by Moroni.
Chapter 1 of The Book of Ether
1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of this north country.
2 And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi, which is called the Book of Ether.
3 And as I suppose that the first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower [of Babel], and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time, is had among the Jews—
4 Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the days of Adam until that time; but they are had upon the plates; and whoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full account.
Editor's note: Engraving volumes of characters on metal plates would be laborious and time consuming work. It's understandable why Moroni didn't copy over the entire 24 plates of Ether when he knew the records were elsewhere.
5 But behold, I give not the full account, but a part of the account I give, from the tower down until they were destroyed.
To be continued...
Great Things Written is the #blogging of the Book of Mormon in chronological order, by Jason S. Comely. Thanks for reading.